The present disclosure relates to the field of liquid dispensing. More specifically, the present application is related to a manually actuated pinch valve for dispensing a liquid through a flexible tube.
A pinch valve is a valve that is operable with a flexible tube and which is capable of pinching the tube to control a flow of fluid therethrough.
While pinch valves are popular in liquid dispensing devices, particularly beverage and liquid food dispensers, they require careful control of the cleanliness of the device. Device cleanliness can be facilitated in two ways. First, secure shut off of liquid flow at the end of dispense minimizes overrun and leakage through the valve during dispenses. Secondly, a system that is easy to clean facilitates and promotes both routine cleaning as well as efficiency of routine cleaning efforts. However, these two objectives are often opposed because ensuring secure closure of pinch valves can lead to increased complexity in the valve itself and the increased complexity makes the valve more difficult to clean. Therefore, a solution that provides improved valve closure while also improving and facilitating an ability to clean the device would be advantageous in the field.